CBS Passes On Brandon T. Jackson’s ‘Beverly Hills Cop’ TV Series

Movies & TV

By: K. Clark/ May 15, 2013

This fell off to the wayside with all the news that went on so far this week, but CBS has decided to not move forward with Brandon T. Jackson’s Beverly Hills Cop TV series.

The pilot episode for Eddie Murphy’s Beverly Hills Cop TV series was a surprise that looked like it would come out from CBS. They even gave the show a “pilot production commitment,” which seemed like a positive response to the cast and story of the show.

Men In Black’s Barry Sonnenfeld directed the episode which all added to elements of a shoo-in show, especially when you have stars Brandon T. Jackson and Eddie Murphy powering the premiere episode. Unfortunately, CBS has rejected the police comedy series, as well as canceling Happy Endings, which just might end up on USA. Murphy teamed up with Shawn Ryan, creator of several popular TV series including The Shield to develop the show and pitch it to U.S. TV networks last summer.

Murphy, who starred as wise-cracking detective Axel Foley in three Beverly Hills Cop movies between 1984 and 1994, would reprise his role in the pilot. The show focuses on Axel’s son Aaron (Jackson) and his adventures in the land of the rich and infamous. Despite the rejection by CBS, Murphy’s TV series is not dead on arrival yet, as the pilot is reported to be shopped around to other networks. If a full season is commissioned, Murphy has said he will “show up here and there” as Axel Foley in future episodes.

With no fourth installment of the Beverly Hills Cop film series in sight, how does Eddie Murphy returning to the small screen bode for fans of Brandon T. Jackson’s work?